RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS [Abstract]

RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

12.   RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

The Holding Company or the Bank maintains the Retirement Plan of The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh (the "Employee Retirement Plan"), the Retirement Plan for Board Members of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (the "Outside Director Retirement Plan"), the BMP, and the Postretirement Welfare Plan of The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh ("Postretirement Plan").  Net expenses associated with these plans were comprised of the following components:

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2012					Three Months Ended March 31, 2011
	BMP, Employee and Outside Director Retirement Plans			Postretirement Plan		BMP, Employee and Outside Director Retirement Plans			Postretirement Plan
Service cost	$	-		$	39	$	-		$	33
Interest cost		306			90		339			86
Actuarial adjustment to prior period   interest cost and amortization		-			-		-			-
Expected return on assets		(363	)		-		(361	)		-
Unrecognized past service liability		-			-		-			-
Amortization of unrealized loss		541			75		312			29
Net periodic cost	$	484		$	204	$	290		$	148

The Company disclosed in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 that it expected to make contributions to, or benefit payments on behalf of, benefit plans during 2012 as follows: Employee Retirement Plan - $51, BMP - $435, Outside Director Retirement Plan- $213, and Postretirement Plan -$200.  The Company made contributions of $13 to the Employee Retirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2012, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated $51 of net contributions during 2012.  The Company made benefit payments of $32 on behalf of the Outside Director Retirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2012, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated $213 of net contributions or benefit payments during 2012.  The Company made net benefit payments totaling $35 on behalf of the Postretirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2012, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated $200 of net contributions or benefit payments during 2012.  The Company did not make any defined benefit contributions to, or benefit payments on behalf of, the BMP during the three months ended March 31, 2012, and does not currently expect to make the $435 of benefit payments on behalf of the BMP during 2012, since anticipated retirements that formed the basis for these expected benefit payments in 2012 are presently not expected to occur.